From: Andrew Sullivan
On Sun, Aug 21, 2011 at 01:08:29AM +0200, jefsey wrote:
However, the Internet MUST be supported by a
network/human oriented universal semiotic system.
I would like a defence of that claim. Speaking entirely personally, I
don't believe it.
Hmmm, my opinion is that I would be pleased if I understood the
demand.
But in my social context, when someone argues for a universal
communication system, they usually continue with a demand that
everybody speaks English. And I don't think that's what we intend.
(<-- this is a joke)
But there is a similar danger with any "universal semiotic system", in
that the more systematic we make it, the less well it aligns with many
of the thousands of human cultures (<-- this is not a joke)
(In critiques of the Pioneer plaque it was noted that the "arrow" as a
textual convention depends on a cultural history of bow-and-arrow
use. So much for universal symbols.)
Dale
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